Potato carrier for potato diggers



W. BROECKER.' POTATo CARRIER FOR PoTATo DIGGERS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, |921.

Patented Aug. 15, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 srrrzs ATE'NT orales. i

WrLLrAM BaoEoKEa, 'or MINNEAPOLIS, vrrivnnsoira.

POTATO CARRER FORPOTATO DIGGERS.. v

Appl'ication 'filed February 2s, 1921. serial Nb. Maceo.

To` @Z210 7mm I? may concern,

Be it known that l, TVVVrLL'IArvr BROECKER, a citizen or the UnitedStates, Yresiding at Minneapolis, in "the county of Hennepin and Stateor Minnesota, lhave invented certain new and luseful Improvements PotatoCarriers for Potato Diggers; 'and I do hereby declare 'the following Itobe a full,

' clear, and exact description or the invention,

lsuch as will enable Aothers skilled in the art to which it 'apperta'insto 'make and use the saine.

This invention relates to a carrying device and particularly to acarrying and 'discharging device adapted to be applied to a 4potatodigger.

Itis customary in potato diggers which followed, the dug and separatedpotatoes'` are placed ,along in rows, there being 'a `row oie. suchVpotatoes for each planted row.v

These potatoes have 'to be gathered by hand land this 'operationrequires the gatherer to be always continuously bending over and pickingup potatoes which are in a lthin 4and more or less scattered rovwl Thishas proved such a. a'tig'uing 'tasky that it has been eX- ceedin'glyd'i'fiicult for the potato growers to secure help for this harvestingOperation.

, It is an object or this invention therefore to provide a carryingattachment for the digger which will carry potatoes for quite a periodandl 'distance and can 'then be operated to dischargel the same; By thisIneans, potatoes will be discharged in wind-rows which -are spaced avconsiderable distance apart and which rows will contain quite a Alargequantity of potatoes. The labor necesvs'aryto pick these up v'will thusbe greatly lessened and the harvesting operation made much less arduous.

It is al further Lobje/ct 'or this invention to proifide a carrier'which can be readily applied to practically all niodern types 4or'power diggers and which can be convenien'tly and eie'cti'vely operatedby the operar tor for the digger".

AThese andt'otherY objects and advantages lor theinven'tion will becomeapparent from4 the following' description made in connec- 4Specrieatonof ljetters Patent. Patigqtfed- .Angl 157 1292326 which like referencecharacters `reiter to thev saine 'parts vthroughoutfthe different views,and, in which, l 'V Fig. l is a view lin side elevation 'or' a potatodigger with thejcarrier applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a view inendfelevation ol the digger and carrier as Aseen from the right 'side"of Fig. l'

Fig. 3 isa carrier; y y W Fig. l-is a vertical section of the diggertaken on the line e-/l 'of Fig.

l F ig. 5 `is a partial viewin vside `elevation. "oit the 'carrier"shown on and Fig". 6 is fa partial, plan view of the liront side orsaid carrier.

Referring to the drawings: A power dgg'er 0f an ordinary type isillustrated which comprises the "digger share l' l,'the el'evz'tingandseparating `"b'elt 2, the supporting 'wheels Stand. the gearing -fordriving` th'e eleva-tor together with vthe yfrance p arts ror supportingthese variousA elements.

an enlarged scale;

An Operators seat is also shown afs-4. The-l digger illustrated is'meant `to represent ay standard vtype or such a vmachine 'and the.prese-nt invention is iiotc1iie' cted to tthe So y structure thereof.,vapart from tl1e f0arfrying device.

The carrying device 4comprises member 'which at'r its -upper portion isformed with vthree sides tivo oit which t'enfd approiiniately at rightangles to the here other.I the hopper being openhfat the rear as``clearly 'shown in Fig. 4. One side 5 of `the hopper eX-tends downwardlyclosely adjacent 'to the `ground and is formed with ajd'ownwardlytransversely 'extending portion 5,

'which 'extends beneath and somewhat t one Vsid'e of the upper portionor the hopper and is connected by downwardly extending tri. angularportion '5c which extends fr'orn 'the' front portion or the hopper. Thishopper is adapted to be carried by the side member "e of the 'elevatormember 2 and is attached thereto by a 'pair f bars 7, one of which'islocated at each side or the elevator and is "provided with spaced holesa to facilitate the application or the `hopper in thedesiredf* clearlysh'own in Figs.^2 and 3. The arns or hars i8 are likev'visey providedwith a pl'iiwf-f rality of holes 8 suitably spaced to afford anadjustment to properly locate the carrier. The ends of the bars 7 and 8are, of course, pivoted to the sides 5 oi 'the hopper. A pivot 9 issupported in the sides oi the hopper 5 and extends transversely acrossthe same and a four-arm reel member l0 is journaled to rotate upon thisshaft. rllhis member 10 is clearly shown in Figs, 2 and 3 and comprisesthe tour-trame members illu which are formed with the spaced rods 10bextending transversely thereacross the frame members being arranged atan angle of ninety degrees to each other. A projecting` bracket member11 is provided with. laterally extending {langes by which it is 'riv-.eted or otherwise rigidly secured to the frontv oi the hopper 5, and isapertnred at its outer portion which is spaced from the side of thehopper to receive a bolt or rod member 12a which is provided inside ofthe bracket with a collar 13. `The bolt member 12 extends into thehopper 5 through an aperture formed in the liront side thereof and aspring surrounds the same between the collar 13 and the bracket ll-whichtends to hold the bolt with its end projecting intol'iopper. A lever l5is pivoted ina bracket 16 suitably and rigidly secured to the front sideof the hop per and this lever extends along the front side ot.' thebracket 11 and is provided with an aperture ttor receiving the bolt 12,the head of which is disposed on the outside ofthe lever, the leverextending `from the bracket l1 to some distance beyond the sides oi thehopper. This lever is connected at its outer end to a rod or cablemember 16, which is pivoted at its other end to the intermediate portionof a pedal lever 17' which pivot'ed at its lower end to the side 6 olfthe elevator frame. The upper portion of the lever 17 is formed as apedal and is disposed in corr.

venientposition to be operated by the root of a driver of the (liggenoccupying` seat 4. The frame members l()a oit' reel l() have stop plates18 bolted to their outer edges to eX- tend outwardly therefrom and theseplates are adapted to contact with the inner end of the bolt 12 intheparticular frame member in'contact 'il .it i the bolt and the arm or thereel is thus supi 'ted in a horizontal position as shown in Fig. 4 andforms a grated bottom for the hopper 5, lt may be here .stated that theframe members 1Gd are sevgor said fra-mes.

- -At the front ot' the hopperon the inside of. the wall tliereotcreriveted oi' otherwiserigidly secured a pair of leali springs 2l and 22having theii .ower and free ends project- *ing outwardly, in the saidwall in a` position to be c i0 nl by thexouter sides'of the frame l0 fora, purpose to be later ClQSCi'lOGdf,

A small rod or shaft 23 is supported in suitable bearing` bracketssecured to the upper rear portion or the frame member 6 and eX- tendstransversely or the elevator 2. A member 24 is secured to this shaft andcomprises a plate extendingdownwardly and having its inner end curvedinwardly toward the upper end of the elevator' belt 2. An arm 25 isrigidly secured to one end of the shaft and is connected at its outer'end to a rod 26, he other oud orwhich extends to the lever 7 and ispivoted thereto bythe saine pivot member which carries rodl 16. Y

The operation or the device is as follows:

l e diO'O'ei will be drawn along the potato row and the potatoes areunearthed and carried upon the elevator 2 in the usual manner. Thepotatoes will be discharged from the upper end ot the elevator into thehopper 5 and will tall upon the grated trame 10,

Will-Gli Will be in the positionshown in Fig. 4,-. Any dirt which hasnot been previously separated from the potatoes can drop tlirouh thespaces in the trame 10?. Wlhen sufficient quantity of potatoes have beendischarged into the hopper 5, the operator will press the pedal 17 .andbolt 12 will then be withdrawn through the movement of lever 15 by rod1G.. This will permit the potatoes to drop down and be discharged atthev spring isoi2 rather light material and i' Y giied' to otter verylittle resistance to the movement of the trame. The frame will thus comein contact with the spring 22,

which entends out somewhat farther than` the spring 21 and is made muchstiffer. The frame 10 will rest against the springuntil a certainquantity of potatoes have again klieen discharged into the hopper, whenthe weight thereof will move the frame, down against the bolt 12 whichhas meanwhile been released 'by the operator removing lhis :toot fromthe pedal 17, and has been moved to its inwardly portion by the spring14. In

order to prevent potatoes being discharged into the hopper while therame'members 10 are not in position to receive and support the same.;the member 24 is provided.V It'will be noted that when the operatorpresses pedal. likto discharge the potatoes, he will also move thearm'25 and thus turn the shaft Q53 to bring the curved end of member 24into position to receive any potatoes which may be discharged by theelevator 2. When the pedal 17 is released, the member 24 will moresubstantially into position shown in ,dotted lines inFig. 1 and when inthis position will not interfere with the discharge of the potatoes intothe hopper 5. The potatoes will preferably be dropped at points whichwill align transversely of the various rows so that the dischargedpotatoes will lie in continuous windrows.

I*1 rom the above description it will be seen that applicant hasprovided a device which can be attached to a potato digger at smallexpense and which will greatly reduce the labor heretofore necessary inharvesting the potato crop.

The device is simple in construction and can be readily applied to thetypes of digger now in general use. r*Ihe parts thereof are rugged, andthe device will require substantially no attention to maintain the samein eflicient operating condition.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes maybe made in theform, details and arrangement of the device without departing from thescope of applicants invention, which generally stated consists in thematter shown and described and set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is y n y l. In apower potato digger comprising anelevating vmeans, a carrier for the potatoes comprising a hopperstructure positioned to receive the potatoes from the elevating means, arevoluble grate bottom in said hopper and means adaptedto be actuated bythe operator for moving said'bottom to discharge the potatoes from saidhopper at suitable intervals. l

2. In a power potato digger comprising an elevating means, a carrierdevice comprising a hopper structure arranged to receive potatoesdischarged by the elevating means, a revoluble grate bottom for saidhopper and means positioned for conven ient actuation by the operatorfor moving said bottom to discharge the potatoes at regular intervals.

3. A carrier for a potato digger adapted to be supportedl on the diggerin position to receive potatoes discharged thereby, comprising a hopper,a reel journaled for rotation on one side of said hopper comprising rateframes adapted to successively move into position to form a bottom forsaid hopper. n

4. The structure set forth in claim three and a stop in said hopper forsupporting said frames successively as they come into,

position to form the bottom of the hopper.

5. The structure set forth in claim three, a stop in said hopperforsuccessively supporting said frames and means arranged for convenientactuation by the operator to withdraw said Stop whereby theweight of thelpotatoes will'movethe reel and the p0,-

ktionfed for convenient actuation by the op# `erator to withdraw saidstop fromthe hopper `and automatic means for moving said stop into thehopper. y n

7 .f In a potato digger having an `elevating means and side framesenclosing the same,

' a carrier device adjustably supported on said side frames, comprisingya hopper strucaV 'ture adapted to receive the potatoes discharged `fromsaid elevating means, a reel l member` Journaled at one side of saidhopper and comprising aplurality lof angularly arranged grate frames-adaptedvto successively come into substantially horizontal positionacross said hopper toform a bottom therefor, movable means forsupportingsaid frames insaid hopper, means adapted to be actuated bythevoperator for withdrawing said means, whereby the weight ofy thepotatoes will turn the reel member, and means simultaneously actuatedlby the operator for' preventing vthe discharge of potatoes into saidhopper while `the reel member is turn-'- ing.

8. adapted to be supported on thefdigger in position to receive thepotatoes discharged thereby and comprising a hopper kkstructure,angularly arrangediperforated frames supported by and radiating from, a`common shaft rotatively mounted at one' side of said l y A carrierdevice for a potato digger hopper, means extending` into said hopperlfor successively supporting said frames inv horizontal position, meansfor preventing said. frames from turning in reverse direc-l tion andlmeanspreventing severe .impact of said frames on said supporting means.

9. A carrier for a potato digger comprisi.

and a pair of leaf springs supported in said hopper positioned tovcontact with said,

frames. when the same are rotated, one'of said springs being oflightwstructure and acting to lprevent reverse rotation of saidl framesand the other spring being of heavy structure and adapted to momentarilylsupport said frame until they are` moved into positionl against thestop.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature.

y wiLLrAM BRoEcKER;

